Renewed passion for the game

[tomwalker147]

Hi all,

I've been a bit absent on this forum over the past year or so... one break up, stressful house sale, new girlfriend etc etc My snooker also took a backseat. No doubt many of you can relate to 'life getting in the way'.
Last season was a struggle, not caring too much win or lose just turning up more so in body than in spirit, to be frank a bit of depression crept over me and I took nothing too seriously until close friends took hold of
me. Now more settled I think i'm back..... i've had a few knocks with Pottr (many of you will know of him), nothing spectacular but enough to dust off the cue before the season starts, then bang a century in a frame
with my dad. 112, cueball on a string it felt amazing. The following day and i'm off to Bali/Dubai for 3 weeks and the dust settle on my cue again!

Anyway I made a little purchase at the airport, Hendry's autobiography. Reading about this absolute 'winner' has given me the urge to get back into snooker as much as possible. I don't know if any of you have read it
but it's a brilliant read (more than happy to post my copy to any of you FOC). He talks about his drive and determination to win everything, never happy with anything less than becoming a champion and never satisfied with
his game, a real perfectionist.

I'm adopting this approach this season, i've entered a couple of local singles snooker leagues (Pottr set one up), another run by our local club and the usual town's league. I've set myself a few goals;
- win one of the two singles leagues
- make at least one century in league match
- make my first maximum
- win the league's averages
- win a pro am event

The reason for my 'boring post' was to share my new found enthusiasm for the game I love. Have any of you recently found enthusiasm after struggling for a period of time?

Best wishes
Tom

[Stevie1]

Hi all,

I've been a bit absent on this forum over the past year or so... one break up, stressful house sale, new girlfriend etc etc My snooker also took a backseat. No doubt many of you can relate to 'life getting in the way'.
Last season was a struggle, not caring too much win or lose just turning up more so in body than in spirit, to be frank a bit of depression crept over me and I took nothing too seriously until close friends took hold of
me. Now more settled I think i'm back..... i've had a few knocks with Pottr (many of you will know of him), nothing spectacular but enough to dust off the cue before the season starts, then bang a century in a frame
with my dad. 112, cueball on a string it felt amazing. The following day and i'm off to Bali/Dubai for 3 weeks and the dust settle on my cue again!

Anyway I made a little purchase at the airport, Hendry's autobiography. Reading about this absolute 'winner' has given me the urge to get back into snooker as much as possible. I don't know if any of you have read it
but it's a brilliant read (more than happy to post my copy to any of you FOC). He talks about his drive and determination to win everything, never happy with anything less than becoming a champion and never satisfied with
his game, a real perfectionist.

I'm adopting this approach this season, i've entered a couple of local singles snooker leagues (Pottr set one up), another run by our local club and the usual town's league. I've set myself a few goals;
- win one of the two singles leagues
- make at least one century in league match
- make my first maximum
- win the league's averages
- win a pro am event

The reason for my 'boring post' was to share my new found enthusiasm for the game I love. Have any of you recently found enthusiasm after struggling for a period of time?

Best wishes
Tom

Nice of you to open up pall wish you all best in your new path in life. Book sounds good

[jrc750]

Some serious goals there, hope you get a hat-trick

[thai_son22]

would love to read this book. hunger is a beautiful thing

[jonny66]

Glad to hear it I've just got back into the game myself

I was thinking of Pottr today, practising long blues I remembered a video of his, when he was faced with a long blue he said something like "the difference between me and you is I just get down and knock this in like it was over the hole".

So I looked at it and though "pfft! that's easy!" Dropped down. Smacked it into the leather. Could I do it again next time? Could I f.....

[JimMalone]

Good to see you back!

Hope things will point upwards for you now.

[tomwalker147]

Hi gents,

thanks for the kind comments!
I might keep a little diary on here from time to time, probably as it'll help me to keep up the practice if nothing else.

So on sunday I had half an hour on the baize but really struggled after the 3 week holiday, not helped by falling off a scooter in Bali the week before!
Last night was better.... I managed to get 3 hours on one of the Star tables in our club. Practice routine went like this;
- Pint of Stowford ordered
- half hour clearing the colours off their spots
- 1 hour of clearing the table,1 red then the colours then 2 reds then the colours and so on, when failing going all the way back to one red. I made it to 13 reds before calling that a day.
- Pint of Carling and a packet of mini cheddars, 5 minute break.
- 10 mins interrupted by a fellow local league player, I told him I wanted to win everything locally this season and was putting in the work. "fair play, good to see you keen again" was the response (i've always found that by telling people my goals it gives me greater reason to try to achieve them, the pressure helps too... how many times have you told somebody you'd pot something then got it?)
- 30 mins line up - completed 4 in a row (4 reds below the black, tight table)
- 10 mins long blues screwing back to baulk
- 5 mins stun run throughs on reds for the black
- 10 mins pinks into right middle (always been a weak shot of mine)
- Brush, block, cover the table... go to the bar, buy a coke and debate local handicaps with mates at the bar.

Great fun, the bug is back

[JimMalone]

- 10 mins pinks into right middle (always been a weak shot of mine)

The right middle when you look on the table from the end with the small colors or the opposite?

[tomwalker147]

The right middle when you look on the table from the end with the small colors or the opposite?

If the below circles were the pockets it'd be the red one below, i've always struggled a touch with middles as i've found older tables with nap and newer star tables with virtually no nap play so differently.
I don't miss into the middles at pace, it's when rolling to drop them in. Usually missing high as if playing for a nap that isn't there... bad habit over time I guess but easily corrected after 25 or so practice strokes.

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[vmax]

Great fun, the bug is back

Let's hope the new girlfriend puts up with it

[pottr]

Nice one, Tom...

I'm kinda getting back into the swing of things myself...

I was thinking of Pottr today, practising long blues I remembered a video of his, when he was faced with a long blue he said something like "the difference between me and you is I just get down and knock this in like it was over the hole".

He sounds like a complete ****** x

[tomwalker147]

Nice one, Tom...

I'm kinda getting back into the swing of things myself...



He sounds like a complete ****** x

Good lad, we'll have a knock again now i'm home. I think as much as anything seeing the handicaps for the Atack snooker league gave me a bit of motivation to do some damage this year!

[chrisg]

I reviewed the book for SnookerZone, among others, links for the book reviews are on the link below...More reviews to come!

I really liked Hendry's book - reading it again!

https://snookerzone.co.uk/the-reading-zone/

Good luck in your snooker!

[tomwalker147]

9/10/18
Finish work, driving home but nip to the club for some impromptu practice. 1/2 hour of line up, missing too many so knock it on the head.
Felt agitated couldn't settle, too warm in the club. Cue felt sticky even after cleaning it, it only gave me 15 minutes of playing without getting sticky again.
I've always felt that when practice starts to go badly it's best to knock it on the head, take any positives and come back next time rather than getting annoyed and dwelling on it.

10/10/18 1st Handicap singles league match of the season @7:30
6:30 arrive at the club, 20 minutes just clearing the table (successfully) of 4/5 reds.
6:50 a young lad asks for a frame (up and coming talent I think, Joe Pitcher.... what you reckon Pottr?) Play him off handicaps giving 16 start. I break off poorly and he smacks in a long red,black,red,black....s**t i'm 32 behind!
I settle and win the frame comfortably, giving a few pointers to Joe throughout the frame (I often find that by coaching others it reinforces what I should be doing too).
7:10 grab a drink and relax in the bar waiting for my opponent.
7:30 We begin and i'm all over the place, we're off levels but i'm playing a good player who's capable of excellent snooker. It dawns on me part way through that i've not played competitive snooker since April. The sharpness isn't there, neither is it there for my opponent. The 1st frame is a slog and I win it with some tactical play on the colours paying off. 1-0
Next frame, it's dross now. My opponents moaning about being rusty and missing and it's got to me too, it's catching. Eventually I lose a respot. 1-1
I win 2-1, not much to say besides it was rubbish but I got the win first match back.

11/10/18 2nd handicap singles match
Finish work at 5:30, home, shower, change, straight to the club. Match starts at 7pm and i've booked the table from 6:45 so I can clean it. I arrive and my opponent's already on the table, brilliant.
No time to clean it, it's now playing tragically slow and i'm going on cold.
Giving 16 start away and all i've had this week is "you won't win giving him 16, he can pot" etc... He breaks, I miss a long red. He pots red,black,red before missing the black and leaving it on the side cushion. Black out of commission and i'm 25 behind "excellent".
I settle, a couple of reds with blues and a good safety and despite being behind i'm in control. I go on to win the frame comfortably, nothing spectacular just taking reds with colours. 1-0.
2nd frame, i've potted red,black, red, black and i'm waiting for the black to be repotted. Still waiting, and waiting. He's on his phone, brilliant. Finally respots it and I miss the red. Flow gone, i'm frustrated now and channel it terribly.
I end up 42 behind with 27 on, get all the snookers required but lose on the pink. ANNOYED 1-1.
Frame 3, i'm determined now. I feel robbed, had he not been on his phone i'd already have won this is my opinion. Again, not spectacular but I win on the pink. 2-1.

So week 1 concluded and i've won my 1st two matches. I'm not satisfied though, I should've won both 3-0 (in this format it's a point per frame and you play all 3 frames out, groups of 12, top 4 qualify from each group)

What have I taken from my return so far?
-My game's still there
-there's a strange nervousness from me, hoping it's just lack of sharpness
-I need to put the hours in
-I'm much more easily distracted than I used to be
-I can still win ugly

[vmax]

If your opponent is on his phone anytime during a match you should tell him you're not going to put up with it, surely your league has rules about this.